Anyone care to suggest a car for me?

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You're in Vancouver so perhaps you'd appreciate one of these...
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/its-here-i-finally-have-the-jdm-honda-logo-ga3-sportic-1613838505

Maybe, but just the price of shipping/the amount it increases the price of a car already here is more than I'm willing to spend on my next vehicle as I'll likely end up buying something for sub $1000 again. IF I were ready to buy something this week I'd have gone and checked out a '95 integra hatch that was posted on cl for $800. 303K Km on the odo (low mileage compared to my last car!) & still looked pretty good!

I nearly bought an Integra LS and I looked at a GSR briefly, they're generally good but spend up for a loaded one in nice shape. The structural rigidity is way better than most Civics, so it's worth picking up one of the trims with ~50ish additional HP, lighter wheels & possibly 4 doors. The 1996+ Acura EL quasi-Civics up there also look nice to me. Acura 2.3 CL coupes are a cushy option too, provided you get the tough 5 speed.

IF I can find a repo under the right circumstances, I don't care what I drive.

Otherwise I'm going to wait as long as I can, and then when I do buy something, it'll be the best car to fit my needs under $1K-ish. I won't be too picky about model/trim levels/features etc. So long as I can pack sporting goods and tools around in it on the cheap, it'll do.

That doesn't seem like safe criteria, I say go the sporty Honda/Acura route; you like them, they aren't slow and they're plentiful enough that a nice one usually comes along in that price range within a week or 2. I just don't see any reasons to settle in that department with so many everywhere, not to mention the better model lines available in Canada. Don't waste your money on a clunker with raspy cylinder heads when the same cash can buy you leather seats, another gear or 2, cruise control, a nice stereo and more power.

So I've been taking the bus and train to and from work. It adds 30-90mins to my round trip commute depending on traffic and what time I were to drive home after work - ie if I go do something else and then drive home after rush hour it'd be a breeze vs. potentially sitting in rush hour traffic longer than it takes to ride the train. Overall the inconvenience of transit isn't the to and from work portion, but rather not being able to run simple errands on the way home in minutes vs. a stop along a transit commute adding another 30-60mins depending on how long I have to wait for a bus. Then there's not being able to visit friends/family with ease, so it's definitely a social hinderance. At least I've been able to see some people I love on weekends recently.

Blah blah, anyways, my current plan is to put wheels back on the road when the weather breaks and Spring arrives in full swing. As soon as I want to be spending my evenings at the beach instead of sitting in rush hour traffic or on a sardine can of a bus/train during rush hour, that's when I'll go buy & insure something again - all cash, no debt, no monthly insurance payments etc.

I know this thread provided several decent suggestions so far, but I'm still open to more. At the moment one of my top considerations is around a 2002ish Mazda Protege5 (wagon) as they are plentiful with very OK mileage on them (150-225k kms) with 5spd manual transmissions (fun!), 4 doors/cargo space (kites! boards! sleeping in the back with relative ease, tools/junk etc), fairly modern styling (looks way better than a ford focus wagon, IMO), and has an opening sunroof (YAY! the ONE feature I really miss from the two cars I've had with them), get ~28mpg (pretty good) AND can be had for around $2K-ish CDN - a few under 2k, some listed as high as 3k or so.. but I figure I could get a really good one for $2k or so, maaaybe 2500. Sure, there are $500 civics out there.. but for $2K I could get something 12 years or so newer with 1/3 the mileage. At the moment one of these might just be the winner.

I may also consider an ex-taxi 2009ish toyota prius if there's one for sale that isn't a total POS. They have to be sold off around that age.. but I'm a bit weary because if it's still a good car, the owners typically keep them within their family. Anyways, FMV is around $5K asking price for a civilian one, and there's one listed currently for 2900. IF I could score a reliable one for around 2500.. well, I don't care if it has over 300k kms on it.. a local taxi driver proved that a first gen prius could go 1Million kms on the original batteries. 46mpg would be nice, too. Only downside is no sunroof and likely a hideous colour... but never know, could score a white one - depends which cab co is selling any when I'm looking to buy.

And once in a while I think "gas is getting cheaper..." and browse things like AWD Dodge Magnums for $3K buuuut a combined 18mpg. If I'm going to buy that much gas then I may as well buy a truck... and I don't NEED a truck for work/business just yet, so since I should put wasteful spending like that off until I actually Need the utility of a truck, I think I shouldn't really be an A-hole to the environment just because gas might be cheaper for a while. Also, gas savings all Summer can be spent on a new (used) kiteboard.

So yeah, thinking 4 doors, wagon/hatchy thing, cheap, reliable, good on gas.. anything come to mind that would beat a Mazda Protege5?

A guy I bike with sometimes had a Protege5, they're really nice; super light, roomier than the Prius & plentiful. I know they had some rust & electronics issues but nothing major. I also know the Canadian market ones were probably built stronger, certainly with more options. Having driven my mom's 5SPD Corolla up there I strongly recommend against the taxi Prius - nickel-metal-hydride batteries are just weak for how dirty they are to produce. If you find a Civic Hybrid or Insight you can plug-in convert, it's another story since the Hondas use Lithium-Ion packs & actually offered manuals.

My cousin also just got a Pontiac Vibe (rebadged Toyota Matrix/Corolla wgn) with the Automatic & AWD in lieu of a clunky secondhand Subaru Forester & he's really enjoying that for running & skiing. The GT models ditched the AWD in favor of 6 speeds & ~180HP...

Volkswagen

RAV4 AWD

whatever car you choose should have a civilized smooth ride over the bumps. at least where I live the country roads are quite harsh.

VW has tons of good choices up there, I bet a 1.8t city Golf would stack up quite nicely next to the Protege. Also, if you're willing to tolerate the slowness & bizarre styling, the Toyotas Yaris are actually really fun.

Yes I know Prius:Prii... I'm reaching... Mods please correct my plurals if you dare.

Roomier than the Prius? As in driver comfort or cargo space or? They're a bit longer.. maybe roomier inside - dunno. I've ridden shotgun in a Prius (taxi) and in a P5 a few years ago, but I don't recall the P5 being significantly roomier. Hmm.

In general, cars don't rust here. Most rusty cars here (very few) have been imported from elsewhere. We don't really get "Winter" & our roads are very rarely salted. A friend who was visiting from Toronto years ago said "Wow, look at all the old cars!" and I looked around expecting to see some OLD cars.. but he was just referring to the huge number of 80's/90's cars on the road because they don't disintegrate here like they do back East. What type of electrical issues are common with P5s?

Prius batteries - how do you mean they're weak? Taxi's seem to have no difficulty driving those cars up to 330-380k kms before they are forced to replace their cars due to allowable age limits. A Vancouver cabby drove a first gen Prius over 1,000,000 kms on the original battery pack. They seem to hold their own just fine. What does a 5spd Corolla have to do with Prius batteries?

Civic hybrid isn't even on the radar. No hatchback/wagon cargo space = no good for me. Also, a plugin conversion isn't something I'd want as plugin cars don't have enough range for me and my weekend Summer driving.

I want cheap and reliable, not a money pit.

Any cheap VW is going to cost $$$ to repair/maintain.

I've owned 4 old VW's in the past. They're not, in general, cheap and reliable.

A $1K VW would cost far more than a $1K Honda or Toyota to own and operate.

Even if I do bump up the budget to $3K, same story - far better value/reliability in a Honda or Toyota product.

Out of warranty VW's are for people who really love them, have money to burn, or can't do math.

One that new would be WAY out of my budget range. One of my close friends has an AWD RAV4 - in fact, I was just out in it with him a couple hours ago. I like 'em good enough, buuuuut, for under $3K they're fairly old and bare bones annnd don't really get that great of fuel economy at ~23mpg regardless of which model year. At least a P5 gets ~28mpg, and if I go all the way to a Prius taxi they get 46mpg. Cost is more of a consideration than style. I'd rather save my money for other things than give it to oil & gas companies.

The roads here are fairly well maintained. Very few potholes. We don't really get "Winter" so they don't really freeze and crack or wash away and all that. We do get a lot of rain, though.

My last car, a 1990 civic hatchback, did plenty fine on our roads - and off them as it's a 2km slightly bumpy gravel road off the highway to the kite beach. Lowriders and Super Cars get around here just fine. There's no need to buy a large SUV, pickup truck, or couch on wheels for comfort over crappy roads here. If I happen to be driving a lower car, it'll just scrape the ground a little bit here and there.

Unless you'd rather have disposable income vs. a VW in the driveway.. then they don't stack up nicely next to almost anything.

Yaris hatch would be a possibility.. but they're quite a bit pricier than a P5.

Here's a Prius for sale quite close to where I live:

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/5415265459.html

If I were in the market to buy a car this weekend, I'd go test drive this one and ask why it has a rebuilt title & possibly make a lowball offer. A white one would be nice vs. puke green/yellow or bright orange.. but when the time comes, condition and value will trump paint colour - I'd drive the ugliest coloured ex-taxi. Besides, if I really got sick of the colour, for a car of that price range.. there's always spray paint.